AMC’s streaming service, AMC Plus, is in the process of expanding its distribution.
Josh Reader, president of distribution and development for AMC Networks says this is something that is always happening behind the scenes. The company is often in discussions with distribution partners.
“Every partner has their own profile and has their own interests and priorities. We’ve really been able to tailor these conversations to the specific profiles and interests of our different distribution partners,” Reader explained Wednesday at The StreamTV Show.
The company recently made agreements with new distribution partners and launches are in the works. Reader did not give a specific timeline for the launches, and he also didn’t give too many details about who those partners are. Reader says that AMC has a great relationship with distributors, which benefits the company when it’s time to make negotiations.
AMC has discovered that maintaining a linear channel within electronic programming guides (EPG) has been a smart move.
“A lot of customers still interact with that EPG. It would be tempting in some ways to say, ‘It’s a streaming product. We don’t need that linear channel,’” Reader said. “But we’ve found that linear channel has been a huge addition of customer value.”
“We were met with enthusiasm. Our distribution partners, the MVPDs, are participating in the upside from these products. What they’ve been looking for, for a long period of time, is how do they serve different customer preferences and how to they give customers that more premium experience even on the traditional cable or satellite platform,” Reader said.
AMC+ is accessible through Apple TV Channels, Amazon Prime Video Channels, Comcast Xfinity, DirecTV, Dish, Roku, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.